Castles
The association between the crusades and castles are inseparable and for good reason. In the Holy Land, the chronic lack of manpower forced the European knights living there to create or strengthen existing castles to an extremely high level of defensibility. Some of the the castles like Krak de Chevalier or Saonne are extraordinary pieces of military architecture. These stone castles were virtually unknown in Europe at the time and it was primarily due to the crusades that stone castles (instead of wood and earth castles) began to be constructed after warriors returned from the Holy Land. Some of the castles used in the Baltic Crusades (Prussia, Livonia, Lithuania) were constructed not of stone but red brick. The Teutonic Knight military order is the most famous for their use of red brick in castle construction. Although several ruins exist, it is their headquarters at Marienburg (Malbork) Poland that is most spectacular, to the extent of being one of the largest and best preserved in all of Europe. Castle Literature 1) Castle Author: David Macaulay Illustrator: Ibid Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Company, 215 Park Avenue South, New York, New York 10003, USA Year: 1977 Length: 80 Pages Description: Although generally written for a younger audience, this book is an excellent overview of just about everything to do with castles and those who lived in them. The sketches are of a unique style but of good quality and logical proportions. One of the nicer aspects of the book are the illustrations of the tools used to construct castles, underscoring how basic (but sufficient) these tools were. 2) The Medieval Fortress: Castles, Forts, and Walled Cities of the Middle Ages Author: J.E. and H.W. Kaufmann Illustrator: Robert M. Jurga Publisher: Perseus Books Group, 11 Cambridge Center, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA Year: 2001 Length: 320 Pages Description: This book is of a moderate to high level of detail regarding castles. Whereas it doesn't discuss so much the construction methods, it does show some aspects of siege warfare. Nevertheless, it is the outlines and descriptions of specific castles that are the focus of the book. The book travels from region to region in Western Europe, Eastern Europe, and the Middle East while taking a look castles and their various aspects. From this book you get a better understanding of the development and evolution of castles in each of these areas as well as some good descriptions of specific sites. It is also a good starting point for anyone interested in visiting any of these particular castles. Photographs (B&W), sketches, and overhead layout plans are a nice and prominent feature of this book. 3) Crusader Castles in the Holy Land 1097-1192 Author: David Nicolle Illustrator: Adam Hook Publisher: Osprey Publishing, Midland House, West Way, Botler, Oxford OX2 0PH, UK Year: 2004 Length: 64 Pages Description: This book describes the main crusader fortifications from the 1st Crusade through the start of the 3rd Crusade. This period is also the peak of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, Kingdom of Antioch, Kingdom of Tripoli, and (until the mid 1100's) the Kingdom of Edessa. As such, the castles in this volume are spread over the widest area and, in many cases, have some of the most impressive structures in their ranks. The illustrations are copious and of excellent quality. The book also contains a "visiting today" section that provided the inspiration for the section lower in this page. Like the following four books in this list, all are publications of Osprey. Each of these books are short but concise and full of information as well as illustrations and layouts. All are fantastic and provide a wealth of information for minimal reading. Recently, this book along with the other two in this list, written by David Nicolle, have been combined into a single volume and published by Osprey. 4) Crusader Castles in the Holy Land 1192-1302 Author: David Nicolle Illustrator: Adam Hook Publisher: Osprey Publishing, Midland House, West Way, Botler, Oxford OX2 0PH, UK Year: 2005 Length: 64 Pages Description: This book is identical in format to the previous title. This title performs a closer look at the castles and city walls from during the "Kingdom of Acre", which is the later crusader state in modern day Israel (named after the city of Acre, which was the capital of this kingdom following the loss of Jerusalem). The only other difference of note is the larger number of castles belonging to the military orders, but this is due to the fact that these orders played an increasing significant role in the affairs of the crusader states as time went on. 5) Crusader Castles in Cyprus, Greece, and the Aegean 1191-1571 Author: David Nicolle Illustrator: Adam Hook Publisher: Osprey Publishing, Midland House, West Way, Botler, Oxford OX2 0PH, UK Year: 2007 Length: 64 Pages Description: Like the previous two titles, this book follows the same format and style in describing the various fortifications around the Aegean and Greece, including the list of sites. Often, the impact of the crusades and crusaders upon Greece and its inhabitants is often overlooked. The disheartening sack of Constantinople in 1204 during the 4th Crusade by European crusaders sent into effect the de facto fall of Byzantium and placed many European lords in possession of Greek estates over much of the country. The Italian cities of Venice and Genoa were especially dominant over Greek lands and built or occupied and strengthened many castles and fortifications. This book looks at the remaining structures. As a side note, today Greece generally ignores this aspect of its history in favor of its ancient past, and the sites often reflect this from lack of funding. A classic (but understandible) example of this is the crusader fortification of the Acropolis in Athens. Much of the structure was still standing in the 1800's, but any architecture from after the classical period was dismanteled at a later date. This is also why the Turks famously stored gunpowder in the Acropolis during their control of the country, since the site was the citadel of Athens! 6) Crusader Castles of the Teutonic Knights (1): The red-brick castles of Prussia 1230-1466 Author: Stephen Turnbull Illustrator: Peter Dennis Publisher: Osprey Publishing, Midland House, West Way, Botler, Oxford OX2 0PH, UK Year: 2003 Length: 64 Pages Description: Unlike the previous titles, this book is concerned with the crusader castles of the Baltic region. In this volume, the famous structures found in modern day Poland are discussed. The vast majority of these are made of red bricks due to the lack sufficient local rock quarries and the ease of construction. The other binding aspect of these castles is that they were all owned and created by one specific military order, the Teutonic Knights. The Teutonic Knights began crusading in the Baltic region in the 1220's and were highly successful, eventually creating a powerful and advanced state. This state eventually lost its extraordinary power after the defeat of the order at Tannenberg/Grunwald in 1410 by the combined armies of Lithuania and Poland, but the remnants eventually survived and (after becoming secular) were the foundations of the Prussian state. One of the most impressive features of this book are the color photographs and illustrations that depict the stark contrast of these bright red castles to the grey and relatively mundane castles common throughout much of Europe. 7) Crusader Castles of the Teutonic Knights (2): The stone castles of Latvia and Estonia 1185-1560 Author: Stephen Turnbull Illustrator: Peter Dennis Publisher: Osprey Publishing, Midland House, West Way, Botler, Oxford OX2 0PH, UK Year: 2004 Length: 64 Pages Description: As mentioned in the previous description, volume 1 was about the red brick fortifications of the Teutonic Knights in Poland. In Livonia (Latvia/Estonia), ample enough resources did not necessitate similar construction methods and as such the castles more resemble those of other parts of Europe (though it should be noted there were some castles in this area also made of red brick). Generally speaking, there is not much more to say about this book since it follows the same guidlines as the other castle books to the extent that all are the same exact length in pages. It should also be noted that the Teutonic Knights of Livonia, although part of the order as a whole and under the command of the Grand Master of the order in Prussia (or the Holy Land), they were generally autonomous. This independance is another factor in why the castles of Livonia differed from those in Prussia. Castles of the Holy Land (List) This is a work in progress. The list below is of the names of various castle, when possible of every type given to a single structure. For example, a castle could be known by three names, since it might have been called one name by the European Knights, another by the local Muslims, and a third by the local Greeks. In the center row are various letters denoting the location of the structure by country (T=Turkey, S=Syria, I=Israel, P=Palestine, J=Jordan, L=Lebanon). Those with an (*) asterisk next to them are either in excellent condition or have been restored. The row on the far right is of general comments about their current status or, if applicable, which crusader military order garrisoned the structure (Hosp=Hospitaller, Temp=Templar, Teut=Teutonic Knights). This list is only of the Holy Land, not of those in Spain or the Baltic region that could also be called "Crusader Castles." In time, each name should become a link to information on how to visit the site. Most names and information were extracted from the Osprey books. Aila/’Aqabah Aintab/’Ayn Tab Albara/al-Barah Alexandretta/Iskandariyah Amoude/Khan ‘Amudah'' T'' Anamour Anazarbus Apamea/Afamiyah'' S'' Aqua Bella'' I Hosp'' Aradus/Ruad/Arwad Arima/al-Araymah Arsur/Arsuf'' I'' Atlit'' I Closed Military Zone'' Balatonos Belfort/Shaqif Arnum'' L'' Belhacem/Qal’at Abu’l-Hasan Belinas/Banyas Belmont/Suba Belvoir/Kawkab al-Hawa'' I* Hosp'' Bethany/al’Azariyah Bethgibelin/Bayt Jibrin Bethsan/Baysan Bira/al-Bira Blanchegarde/Tal al-Safiyah Bokebais/Abu Qubais Botron/al-Batrun Caco/al-Qaqun Caesarea/al-Qaisariyah P* Cafarlet/Kfar Lam Calansue/al-Qalansuwa Hosp Casal des Plains Casal Imbert/al-Zib Castel Blanc/Burj Safitha S Some remains, mostly destroyed Castel Neuf/Hunin Castel Rouge/al-Qalat Yahmur L? Hosp Heavy Dam. Castellum Beroart/Minat al-Qal’a Castellum Regis/al-Mi’ilyah Cave de Sueth/’Ain al-Habis J'' Cave de Tyron/Shaqif Tirun Cavea/al-Mughayir Caymont/Tal Qaimun Celle/al-Habis ''J Chateau de la Vieille/Bikisra’il Chateau Pelerin/Atlit Chateauneuf/Hunin Cisterna Rubea/Qal’at al-Damm Coliat/al-Qulai’ah Crac des Chevaliers/Hisn al-Akrad S* Hosp Cursat/Qusair Daron/al-Darum Edessa/al-Ruha Emmaus/Abu Ghosh Forbelet/al-Taiyiba Gaston/Baghras T Temp Gibelcar/’Akkar L Not excavated Gibelet/Jbayl'' L'' Harenc/Harim Hormuz/al-Naqa II Ibelin/Yibna Judin/Qal’at Jiddin Kadmos/Qadmus S'' Krak des Moabites/al-Karak ''J? La Forbe/Harbiyah La Tor de l’Opital/Burj al-Shamali Le Destroit/Qal’at Dustray Destroyed to build Atlit Le Petit Gerin/Zirrin Le Toron des Chevaliers/al-Atrun Le Vaux Moise/al-Wu’aira J* Maldoim/Qal’at al-Damm I Temp Maraclea/Maraqiyah Margat/al-Marqab S* Hosp Mirabel Mont Ferrand/Ba’rin Montfort/Starkenberg/Qal’at al-Qurayn I Teut Montreal/Shawbak J'' Nephin/Anafah Ranculat/Qal’at al-Rum Ravendel/Rawanda ''T Recordane/Khirbat Kardanah Roche de Roussel/Hajar Shuglan Temp Rochefort/Bourzay S'' Ruad/Arwad ''S Saone/Sahyun S* Saphet/Safad Selucia Trachea Sephorie/Saffuriyah St. Simeon Subeibeh/Qal’at Subayba Toprak/Tal Hamdun Tortosa/Tartus Trapesac/Darbsak Temp Turbessel/Tal Bashir Turris Salinarum/Tal Tananim Vadum Jacob/Jisr Ya’kub I Never Completed Villejargon/’Arqah Cities: Acre Antioch Arsuf Ascalon Jerusalem Sidon Tyre